North West schools win £50,000 for helping disadvantaged pupils
6 schools across the North West have
been awarded individual prizes worth up to £50,000 in the 2015 Pupil Premium
Awards, in recognition of their success in improving the attainment of their
most disadvantaged pupils. Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg handed out prizes
and congratulated the four national winners and 62 finalists, runners up and
high aspiration award winners from across the country on their innovative and
effective use of the pupil premium. The awards ceremony, held in London,
provided an opportunity to reward and recognise the schools doing the most to
raise attainment and close the attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and
their peers as well as to showcase examples of the most effective practice which
other schools can learn from.
The schools across the North West which received prizes are...
► Oakfield High School, Wigan, which has won £50,000 as a national finalist in
the special school and alternative provision category....
► Liscard Primary School, Wirral, which has won £50,000 as a regional finalist
in the primary school category....
► King David School, Wavertree, Liverpool, which has won £50,000 as a regional
finalist in the secondary school category....
► Claremont Primary School, Salford, which has won £25,000 as a regional
finalist in the primary school category....
► St Bede's Catholic High School, Blackburn, which has won £10,000 as a regional
runner up in the secondary school category....
► Lower Kersal Community Primary School, Salford, which has won £5,000 as a
regional runner up in the primary school category....
The Deputy Prime Minister said:- "It is a huge injustice that in 21st
century Britain a child's success or failure is often determined by their
parents' income or social class. That's why the Pupil Premium is so important.
This year alone we have provided £2.5 billion of funding to help almost 2
million youngsters go further. And we are seeing results. If all Pupil Premium
schools did as well as the very best, I hope we can see the attainment gap
closed in the next decade. This has been one of my proudest achievements in
government and all of this year's finalists are shining examples of how much can
be achieved. Through initiatives like these we can together build a fairer
society for all, where every child's achievement is determined by ability and
not by the circumstances of their birth."
The pupil premium; extra funding which schools receive to support their
disadvantaged pupils - is worth £2.5bn this year alone. Recent results show the
positive impact which the pupil premium has had in raising the attainment of
disadvantaged pupils and closing the attainment gap.
Pupil premium primary children achieved their best ever results this year, and
the new attainment gap index shows that the real attainment gap is narrowing at
both primary and secondary levels.
Thousands of pupils in almost 600 schools across the country will benefit as a
result of this year's awards, which recognise the schools which are using their
pupil premium in the most innovative and effective ways.
The Pupil Premium Awards reward schools which are able to provide evidence of
effective strategies to improve the achievement of disadvantaged pupils and show
sustained improvement in raising their attainment.
Schools Minister David Laws said:- "I am proud to congratulate the winners
of this year's Pupil Premium Awards, which recognise and reward our excellent
schools and teachers who are making a real difference to the lives of
disadvantaged pupils. The Pupil Premium Awards will raise aspirations by
identifying the most innovative and effective use of the pupil premium in
raising attainment. I hope all schools will learn from these excellent examples,
so we can continue the vital progress we have made towards closing the
attainment gap. The pupil premium is helping to build a fairer society for all,
giving teachers the resources they need to ensure all pupils get the best
possible start in life and can go on to achieve their full potential."
Up to £4 million of prize money will also be awarded in the 2016 awards and
schools are being encouraged to act now to review what they are doing in their
school and ensure they are using the pupil premium effectively; using tools such
as the evidence based Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) toolkit or by
undertaking a pupil premium review. .
